Politicians united in calls to address a ‘national crisis’ over drink spikings United in calls to addressnews crisis’ over drink spikings
MEMBERS of the Senedd have made calls for urgent action following an increase in drink spiking in Welsh venues, including reported incidents in Swansea.
At plenary this week, members of the Senedd called for stakeholders to implement measures including providing free drink covers and improving security in Wales’ nightlife businesses as well as shifting the onus of blame on the abusers rather than victims.
Ahead of the debate Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS reiterated calls for Welsh political parties to join together and adopt three proposals she argues will help reduce incidents of spiking. The three proposals are:
Free drug test strips to be made available for free at all bars and nightclubs, backed by government funding if necessary.
Greater access to training on drink spiking for all venue staff, security services, and the police.
Tougher sentences for those found guilty of spiking.
All parties showed a united effort to tackle the growing problem of spiking during Wednesday’s debate.
In his opening remarks Welsh Conservative Tom Giffard MS addressed the increase in reported cases of spiking and called for improved safety measures including enhanced CCTV and better provision for drink covers.
Mr Giffard argued that drink stoppers could make drink-spiking “almost impossible” but said spiking by injection remains a problem.
He added: “[Spiking by injection] is part of an escalation of abuse directed overwhelmingly towards women. It is among the most grievous crimes that anyone could conceive. Let’s make no bones about it - an action like that is undertaken because of an intention to rape women and it must be treated with the gravity that those implications deserve.”
Welsh Conservative member for Clwyd Gareth Davies MS called for better recognition of male victims of spiking as well as young women. He said: “While it’s true that the majority of spiking attacks are against women, one in four of those attacks are against men and that was how Britain’s most prolific rapist, Reynhard Sinaga, attacked his victims. Thankfully Sinaga is behind bars serving a 40-year sentence for carrying out 159 sexual assaults.”
In terms of what can be done Mr Davies said that there have been trials of “drink lockers” as a way to secure your drink while you visit the bathroom or dance floor - a method which he said would be his “preference on a night out”.
Mr Davies also illuminated the extremely low rates of those responsible being brought to justice, stating that in his policing area of North Wales 18 reported cases of spiking led to zero arrests last year.
Other members of the Senedd shifted the debate away from female vigilance toward male accountability instead.
Plaid Cymru member for South Wales West Sioned Williams MS said: “While the introduction of proposals such as drink covers and bottle stoppers, improved security, and CCTV may allow people to feel safer from spiking when going out in some settings, such as clubs and bars - though not, of course, in house parties - these measures won’t change the cultural attitudes that drive sexual violence in the first place. Because if we’re serious about preventing spiking we must engage with and tackle the root of the issue that leads to this crime.
“There is a high level of sexual violence and harassment, an epidemic in fact, according to Welsh Women’s Aid, beyond spiking and the night-time economy. The attitudes that drive sexual harassment and violence and abuse must be deemed as absolutely unacceptable in all settings including the home, in schools and colleges, and in the workplace. To help achieve this we must invest and sustainably fund initiatives that aim to prevent violence against women and support for all survivors uniformly throughout Wales.”
Welsh Labour minister for social justice, Jane Hutt MS concurred on similar lines: “First and foremost let me be clear that it is not for women to modify their behaviour - it is for abusers to change theirs. The onus of these crimes does not fall on the women. It falls squarely on those men who commit them.
“Secondly, to those who know the perpetrators. If you know or see a person that is carrying out these crimes you have a moral duty to report them as soon as it is safe to do so.
“We all have a duty in our communities to call out inappropriate behaviours and offer support where it is safe to do so. This includes men being empowered to engage with other men and boys to call out abusive and sexist behaviour among their friends, colleagues, and communities to promote a culture of equality and respect.”
Welsh Conservative member for South Wales Central Joel James also addressed the fact that 35% of drinkspiking reports were at private parties rather than nightclubs. He said prosecutions for perpetrators in spiking cases were “extremely rare” due to the difficulty of providing evidence and this has given perpetrators enough confidence to start injecting people.
Mr James called upon the government to have better blood testing facilities to improve case evidence. He said: “Blood tests are needed within a narrow window of spiking to provide evidence and there are many people who feel that they are often not taken seriously enough by the police and health professionals when they report alleged spiking – basically that they have drunk too much or they can’t handle their drink. “While spiking a drink can carry a maximum sentence of 10 years, the problem lies in the ability of the police to reliably catch people spiking them and to prosecute accordingly. This remains an exceptionally difficult thing for them to do and I believe that until an appropriate system is put into place men and women will continue to be subjected to this abhorrent crime.” Sioned Williams MS urged the
Welsh Government to call on the Home Office to review the way that spiking is classified in law in order to make women feel more able to report cases and to see justice served. She said: “Currently the act of spiking itself is not categorised specifically in law; it is instead listed as an offence under other pieces of legislation, which also capture many other types of crime. This interferes with data collection and means we don’t have an accurate picture of the problem.
“The Welsh Government should call on the Home Office to review the way that spiking is classified and recorded to allow the nightlife sector and relevant authorities to have a benchmark from which to be able to explore regional differences and come up with solutions from a position of increased understanding.”
Welsh Conservative for North Wales, Sam Rowlands MS, described spiking as a “national crisis” and said “all sides of the political spectrum” were fighting for the same outcome.
[Spiking by injection] is part of an escalation of abuse directed overwhelmingly towards women. It is among the most grievous crimes that anyone could conceive. Let’s make no bones about it - an action like that is undertaken because of an intention to rape women and it must be treated with the gravity that those implications deserve Tom Giffard MS